1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of data monitoring and presentation, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for efficiently and dynamically updating metrics within a complex heterogeneous system on a display map.
2. Description of the Related Art
Monitoring system performance can provide engineers and system operators with time critical information that can often help to alleviate or avert catastrophe and also design better systems. This is especially true for complex heterogeneous systems. Complex heterogeneous systems are systems that can have entities and components that are diverse in their functionality and operability. In these complex heterogeneous systems, it can often be necessary to monitor metrics defined for these systems in order to ensure that the components or entities in the system are functioning optimally. A metric is a standard of measurement that can be used for mathematical or statistical analysis. Metrics can include performance data or configuration information that can be used to setup software or hardware parameters. As the size of complex heterogeneous systems increase, so does the complexity of monitoring various metrics. Moreover, as complex heterogeneous systems become more diverse, it can become progressively more difficult to collect and analyze the various metrics collected.
For example, in complex heterogeneous systems, it can be necessary to monitor realtime performance to ensure that the network functions optimally. A content delivery network (CDN) is an example of a complex heterogeneous system and can include e-Business systems and communication networks. Since the CDN can consist of entities and diverse components, the size and heterogeneous characteristics of these CDNs can make it extremely difficult to perform real time analysis. Entities and components can include, but are not limited to servers, switches, routers, caches, load dispatchers (LD) and traffic managers. As a result, it is often required to perform tests on a scalable version of the network. Even then, personnel and expertise are required to dutifully monitor each component, entity or subsystem of the network, along with any associated applications databases and platforms. This post analysis monitoring can be time extremely consuming and very expensive.
Even in cases when performance metrics or attributes are collected, the collected data must be analyzed and presented in a manner that facilitates easy interpretation. Monitoring realtime performance requires simultaneous assessment of the performance metrics for all of the components or entities forming the CDN. Realtime values of the performance associated attributes must be available in order to determine what attributes are causing a bottleneck and what components, entities or subsystems might have resources available to accommodate additional traffic.
Importantly, the collection of system information such as performance metrics and configuration data, can involve the sending and receiving of communication messages within the system. These communication messages can include queries and responses, the latter of which can contain updated values for the metrics. In networks, the transmission of these messages involve overhead traffic than can reduce the effective throughput of these system. In heterogeneous systems, the greater the number of entities, components, metrics and configuration information, the greater the impact on the overall throughput and efficiency of these systems.
A similar problem can exist in other heterogeneous systems such as computing system environments. In these systems, it is often necessary to monitor certain system metrics in order to ensure optimal performance of the system. For example, it might be necessary to monitor performance metrics for an Operating System (OS) running on a platform. As the size and complexity of the software, its related data bases, and number of users in such systems that utilize the OS increases, so does the ability to collect and analyze metrics. Moreover, as the size and complexity of these systems increase so does the amount of information that has to be communicated in order to collect updated metrics. The increase in the amount of communication and associated processing that can be required to collect the updated metrics can severely impact the efficiency of these systems.
Given the inherent drawbacks associated with realtime collection of the metrics associated with heterogeneous systems, there exists a need to provide a more efficient approach to dynamically collecting updated metrics in these kinds of systems.